Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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152. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount and purpose of public funding that has been required to date by the credit union sector; the amount collected from credit unions by way of the levy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33787/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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There are currently three funds in place which can be utilised under certain conditions to fund credit unions, two of which have been supported by public funding. 

1. The Credit Institutions Resolution Fund (CIRF)

The CIRF was established under Section 10(1) of the Central Bank and Credit Institutions (Resolution) Act 2011 (2011 Act). The Government contributed €250m to the Fund in December 2011 to provide a source of funding for the resolution of financial instability in, or an imminent serious threat to the financial stability of an authorised credit institution, and in particular-

- To reimburse the Minister for any provision of a financial incentive pursuant to section 46;

- To provide funds for any payment required pursuant to section 37(1), 42(5), 48 or 98;

- With written consent of the Minister, to provide capital for a bridge-bank; and

- To meet the Bank's expenses in discharging its functions under this Act.

The CIRF Levy commenced in October 2012 and levies collected from credit unions to date amount to €36.8m. Approximately €30m has been provided to support resolution actions in the credit union sector.

2. The Stabilisation Fund

In accordance with Part 4 of the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012 credit unions contribute annually to a statutory Stabilisation Fund.  The Stabilisation Fund, contained within the Credit Union Fund, is available to all credit unions with a reserve ratio equal to or greater than 7.5% of the credit union’s total assets and less than 10% and where the Central Bank assesses the credit union as viable. Stabilisation support will be provided to address short-term problems at credit unions that are viable but undercapitalised. Payment of an annual Stabilisation Levy commenced in 2015 (for a period commencing on 1 October 2014) and to date levies collected  amount to €9.9m. There have been no drawdowns, to date, from the Stabilisation Fund. A review of the Stabilisation Levy will be carried out in 2017.

3. The Credit Union Fund

The Credit Union Fund was established under section 57 of the Credit Union and Co-operation with Overseas Regulators Act 2012 (2012 Act) for a number of purposes including the provision of stabilisation support, but primarily to provide a source of financial support for the restructuring of credit unions under the Credit Union Restructuring Board (ReBo) and to meet the expenses of ReBo in discharging its functions. The Government provided €250 million? to the Credit Union Fund specifically for restructuring under ReBo. The Restructuring Levy (ReBo Levy) is provided for under section 47 of the 2012 Act and commenced in 2014. To date levies collected amount to approximately €9.4m. The Minister for Finance recently signed ReBo Levy Regulations for 2017 for a levy amount of €1.6m which is due to issue to credit unions shortly. This will bring the total restructuring levy for the sector to €11m, circa 50% of ReBo's total gross expenditure. Approximately €22.6m has been drawn from the Credit Union Fund for restructuring purposes. ReBo concluded its restructuring work on 31 March 2017 and is currently being wound down.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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153. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of credit unions which have been approved and declined respectively for additional services in the past five years; the number of applications ongoing; and the length of time it takes on average from preliminary application stage to full approval. [33788/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Credit Union Act 1997 (the 1997 Act) and the Credit Union Act 1997 (Regulatory Requirements) Regulations 2016 (which set out services exempt from additional services regulations) set out the services that a credit union may provide to its members. These include loans; savings; account access by phone; account access by internet; third party payments (including EFT); ATM services; bureau de change; certain insurance services on an agency basis; group health insurance; bill payment; money transfers; standing orders; direct debits; financial counselling; PRSAs on an introduction basis and insurance on an introduction basis.

Where a credit union wishes to provide services to its members, other than those services that are provided for under the 1997 Act, an application may be made to the Central Bank for approval to provide such additional services in accordance with the provisions set out in sections 48-51 of the 1997 Act.

As set out in communications to the sector the Central Bank is, in principle, supportive of credit unions developing additional services and will consider proposals from credit unions on new additional services they wish to provide to members, where the credit union can demonstrate that:

-  the proposed additional service is supported by a robust business case;

-  the proposed additional service is not contrary to financial services legislation;

-  the board of directors has a sound appreciation of the nature of the additional service proposed and is fully informed of the strategic, governance, risk management, operational, financial and legal implications involved; and 

-  systems and controls are in place to ensure any risks involved in the provision of the additional service are managed and mitigated.

I have been informed by the Central Bank that in the last five years, 11 applications for additional services have been approved and no application has been declined. The majority of these applications have related to the Central Bank approved suite of additional services known as a Member Personal Current Account Service (MPCAS) under the Additional Services Framework set out in sections 48-52 of the Credit Union Act, 1997.  

This service, provides for credit unions to offer debit cards, overdrafts and a full range of payment services within an appropriate risk framework.  

Since the Central Bank approved the MPCAS suite of additional services there has been strong interest in this service and the Central Bank is currently processing a significant number of applications, which are at different stages of assessment but the majority are currently at an advanced stage. Details and application forms for the MPCAS service are available on the Central Bank website. 

I have been further informed by the Central Bank that the timescale from preliminary application stage to full approval depends on the quality of information provided. Where the application form has been fully completed and contains or includes all of the information requested, the Central Bank endeavours to turn around the application as quickly as possible.